Marcius thought back on his life since he woke up from coma, while leading the expeditionary troops from the very front.
It had been almost two months since his 'miraculous recovery' as people called it.
People sometimes told him that he had changed.
Marcius, himself, also noticed that he had a subtle change in personality.
The old Marcius, prior the assassination attempt and coma, was a fairly serious and very hardworking individual. And he was very quick to anger.
He was also kind of, dumb?
No. Not dumb. He was oblivious to plots and schemes around him.
Now, after fusing the souls of old Marcius and Joseph, it could be said that he was no longer as clueless as he was.
Marcius was even able to make attempts at his own schemes, somehow.
He was still hardworking, that was for sure. He managed to learn and fully master 'movement of Gaea' in a single month, due to his rigorous training schedule.
But, the most obvious shift in Marcius's personality was his attitude around other people.
He was no longer very serious when communicating with people around him. Marcius, instead, subconsciously, took a more laidback and relaxed stance.
Now, he usually acted bored and lazy, aside from while he was fighting or training.
But Marcius thought his shift in attitude had some advantages.
Acting bored and lazy could make people underestimate him. So, he decided that a change in personality was not that bad.
Besides, he had other things to worry about.
Like the approaching tree lines, ahead of him.
Marcius cut off his self-musings, as he noted that they had approached the edge of the forest.
Actually, there was a wide area of clear land, between the walls of Mediolan and the Falvic forest.
So, one could ask why they didn't just build more buildings in the clearing.
Well, they couldn't.
Because it was a buffer zone.
When and if, demon beast incursions occurred, they usually came from the forest.
And the soldiers of Mediolan needed that clear buffer zone, to notice the demon beasts approaching before they reached the wall.
Only then, they could make the necessary preparations.
If they just built in the buffer zone without any considerations, it could spell disaster for the citizens who would live in that area. The demon beasts could just breach the defenses, even before anyone could notice, because they were very close to the forest.
That was why, they needed to clear more of the forest for the buffer zone, before they built beyond the city walls.
"Halt!"
At Marcius's command, the whole contingent of soldiers stopped.
Marcius was yet again satisfied with the discipline of the troops. There was no talk, no unnecessary movement. The troops just stood there, while watching the environment with constant vigilance.
"Secure the perimeter. Try to even the ground and build walls and barricades. Guard the surrounding with constant vigilance. Especially the side where the forest is."
Marcius gave out more orders as he observed the area.
"Alright. Boys. Get to work! The designated troops will be in charge of building. Others will guard the construction. Assume defensive formation!"
Ser Janus relayed Marcius's orders to the crowd and the troops rushed to obey.
*** *** ***
Marcius was looking at the map and discussing next plans of action with Ser Janus and Leon.
He was now in his command tent. It was the largest tent and located at the center of their camp.
It was also the most heavily guarded.
One could see a lot of guards surrounding the immediate area of Marcius's tent.
The group of shadow guards could also be seen around the location.
Marcius carefully looked at the map as he considered the situation.
The camp had finished building a while ago. They left the city at late morning and now, it was noon.
It was the benefit of having cultivators for manual labor.
It didn't matter if they were low on the cultivation rank, they were at least three times stronger and faster than a normal person. With that kind of strength, clearing the location and building stuffs was very quick and easy.
For the construction, they had to cut down a few trees from the forest.
But due to his agreement with lady Sabbargh, Marcius had specifically instructed his troops not to cut down more trees than necessary.
For the reason, Marcius told them that the forest was yet to be cleansed of dangerous wildlife and he didn't want to risk his soldiers more than necessary.
His troops were satisfied with the reasoning, and the camp was built shortly after.
For now, Marcius, Leon and Ser Janus were discussing how much they needed to expand the makeshift wall facing the forest line.
Ser Janus wanted to restrict the length of the wall to be as short as they possibly could. He reasoned that the longer the wall, the larger the garrison would be required. And they couldn't afford to compromise such a large number for guard duty. They were needed elsewhere, like actually clearing the forest.
Leon supported the longer walls. He thought that with longer lien of defenses facing the forest, it would be more difficult for demon beasts to flank the camp from the sides. And thus, it would reduce the danger factor of settling near the Falvic forest.
Marcius hummed thoughtfully as he considered both proposals.
At the end, he decided to compromise.
"Ser Janus is right in the fact that we can't afford to waste a large portion of our troops in garrison. But Leon is also right. If we have short line of defenses, it would make it easier for the beasts to surround the camp."
Marcius pointed at a specific area of the map.
"We will build walls at this area. It is flat land, and thus, it will be easier for workers. Because the walls can be consider lacking in length, we will build two high towers at the edges. That way, we can reduce the risk of being surrounded with smaller guards, since the towers only need small garrison. And they will be able to see if the enemy is coming out of the forest and alert us quickly."
Both Ser Janus and Leon seemed satisfied with his decision. And they left quickly afterwards to manage around the camp.
Marcius gently leaned onto his chair. His mind racing with thoughts and calculations about his plans.
As he reached out for the jar of water beside the map, he noticed a letter materialized in front of him, in flames.
He waited for the flames to die down, as he noticed none of the shadow guards running inside, despite the obvious presence of magic in his tent.
Either they didn't notice, or they knew it was harmless magic used for sending messages.
He picked up and letter and read the contents.
'The day after tomorrow. Northern part of the forest. Come alone. L.S.'
He noted the signature of lady Sabbargh. He had two days. Three, if he was counting the rest of today's evening and night.
He stood up slowly, as he pulled out his sword 'Obsidian Edge' from the storage ring.
Well, he had works to do. Camp to manage. Forest to rid of its dangerous wildlife.
No rest for the wicked.
*** *** ***
Inside the city of Mediolan, in a dimly lit room, one could see a group of dark figures sitting around a table.
"The preparations are complete, clan head. Our forces are ready to be sent out."
One figure informed.
"What about our spy?"
The next one asked.
"He has informed us, the date and time of the boy's departure. The location for the camp is still unclear. But if we follow the trail, it is hard to miss an entire settlement."
The first figure replied.
"Then, send our people after him. Tell them to be careful, the boy will be heavily guarded."
The figure at the head of the table commanded for the first time since the start of the meeting, and a chorus of respectful confirmations could be heard around the table.
And the figure continued talking.
"What about elder Vicent? Has he agreed to come to our aid?"
"Yes, clan head. We have generously compensated him. He has promised to take our side in case of an retaliation."
"Good. Now leave."
The figure commanded, and the rest quickly left the room.
When he was alone in the room, the figure stood up and walked towards the only window in the room.
The window was closed but he opened it with a wave of his hand.
Outside of the window was the city of Mediolan, bursting with activities as people went about their business.
The figured stared at the scene.
"A genius fighter without cultivation. You are too dangerous to be allowed to live, even without cultivation. You need to die, Marcius Aemilia. For the betterment of our Sergia clan."
*** *** ***
Author Notes
Hello! MidnightMK here!
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